ARLINGTON, Va. — The Marine Corps plans to deploy armed MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles in the “coming months,” the Navy’s program executive officer for Unmanned and Strike Weapons (PEO-UMW) said. “The MQ-9 Reaper provides increased lethality to the Marine Air-Ground…
Navy Asking Industry for Ideas to Meet Increased Range for UAVs
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s acquisition official for unmanned aerial systems said he is looking for ideas to meet a new requirement that has come down from regional combatant commanders (COCOMs). “Now we have a new demand coming from…
Navy Looking at Upgrades to RQ-21 UAS
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy is planning a series of upgrades to the Boeing Insitu-built RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aerial system, an acquisition official said. “We’re continuing to look at upgrades for the system,” said Rear Adm. Brian Corey, program executive officer –…
Navy’s First Two Textron SSCs ‘Fly Away’ to Panama City
NEW ORLEANS, LA. – Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. company, announced Sept. 9 the successful fly-away of its first two next-generation air cushion vehicles, Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) Craft 100 and LCAC 101, on Sept. 2. The two craft departed Textron…
Wider Development of Unmanned Systems Must Consider Navy’s Global Scale, Geurts Says
ARLINGTON, Va. — One of the big challenges facing the U.S. Navy in the future deployment of unmanned systems is how to obtain and use them effectively on a global scale, the Navy’s top acquisition official says. Unmanned systems are already…
U.S. Pacific Fleet to Conduct Unmanned Fleet Battle Problem in 2021 to ‘Drive Lethality’
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s U.S. Pacific Fleet is planning a Fleet Battle Problem next year that will feature unmanned systems in air, surface, and undersea domains, a Navy admiral announced, noting that “an unmanned Fleet Battle Problem is a…
Navy Orders H-1 Helicopters for the Czech Republic
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has placed an order for two versions of the H-1 helicopter from Bell Textron for the Czech Republic, the Defense Department said in a Sept. 4 release. The Naval Air Systems Command awarded Bell…
Navy to Increase Berthing on Future Expeditionary Base Ships
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy is increasing the berthing on its fourth and fifth expeditionary sea base ships (ESBs) to meet the increasing operational demand this class of ships has experienced since it first deployed. The Navy’s supervisor of Shipbuilding, Bath, Detachment…
Navy Taps 6 Companies for LUSV Studies
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has selected six shipbuilders or naval architect companies for design studies for the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) program, according to a Defense Department (DoD) announcement. The Naval Sea Systems Command awarded a total of…
Coast Guard Interdicts 5 Cuban Migrants
KEY WEST, Fla. — The Coast Guard interdicted five Cuban migrants Sept. 5 approximately 35 miles south of Marathon, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a Sept. 8 release. Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders received a notification of a 6-foot…
